Steven Moffat used to dress up as a superhero called Red Rat
Thankfully he was a child at the time.
He may be known as the man who writes about the biggest superhero in sci-fi, but Steven Moffat revealed his own secret alter-ego during New York Comic Con — Red Rat.
Wait, what?
The unexpected anecdote was announced as the Doctor Who panel discussed new plot revelations surrounding the 2016 Doctor Who Christmas Special, which features a mysterious masked vigilante played by Justin Chatwin. But as it turned out, this wasn't the first time Moffat had dabbled with creating superheroes.
“It is a little known part of my history, but I was a superhero for most of an afternoon once,” he told the audience, recalling his childhood years.
“I became so obsessed with superheroes, and Clark Kent in particular. I realised I was mild mannered, shy and useless, therefore my alter-ego must be awesome, going on the Clark Kent principle. So I became Red Rat.”
If this wasn’t enough, Moffat then went on to reveal that he even made a costume for Red Rat, and by the sounds of things, risked being sued by DC Comics in the process.
“I had a sort of rat mask, and a cowboy hat, and I turned my Batman cape the other way round, because I didn’t want it to be wrongly branded at that early stage,” Steven explained. “And at the age of six, I walked around Paisley looking for crime.”
Despite the iconic costume design, Red Rat’s crime-fighting days were sadly short lived.
“I never really had much of a plan. As I realised as I walked around, what I would do if I encountered crime? And I started to realise that criminals confronted by me might think I was just a strangely dressed small boy and might not fall aside in terror at my appearance. So I thought, ‘I think I’m going to give this up.’”
A tragic end. But with Steven Moffat’s tenure at Doctor Who nearly at an end, maybe Red Rat could live again in a new TV series?
No. We’re joking. This is a joke. Please no.
